SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The White House is apologizing for turning the family of a Medal of Honor recipient away from a tour last week because the late veteran's 10-year-old grandson was wearing shorts.
White House officials blamed a misunderstanding and have apologized to Heidy Baker and Vernon Pawlik, the widow and grandson of veteran Vernon Baker, who was buried last weekend at Arlington National Cemetery.
Baker, the last surviving black Medal of Honor winner from World War II, lived since the 1980s in a valley near St. Maries, Idaho, about 50 miles east of Spokane, Wash. Baker died at home July 13 from complications of brain cancer at age 90. He was buried Friday.
Baker received his overdue honors from President Bill Clinton at a 1997 White House ceremony.
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